The Latest : Fair Tax Amendment & Economic Justice

The following statewide ad, produced by the Responsible Budget Coalition, calls for the public to contact their legislators to demand a responsible state budget. Devastating cuts to teachers, police, and help for seniors will continue without immediate action from the General Assembly.

Her granddaughter is at risk of being denied a preschool education. Her daughter can’t find a willing doctor and is struggling under the Medicaid program.

And a client of Logan’s at Addus HealthCare in Springfield, which provides in-home services for special needs people, has just suffered a sharp reduction in the number of service hours she can receive.

On March 15, women leaders gathered in Chicago to call for comprehensive reform to solve the state budget crisis. They demanded that state leaders prevent further destabilization of the economy and job loss, and adequately fund the vital services that Illinois women, families and their communities need now more than ever.

A guest column from Citizen Action/Illinois Board Secretary-Treasurer, John Cameron.

An excerpt:

“A Crisis is a Terrible Thing to Waste”

It may be a quip attributed to Rahm Emanuel, chief of staff to our current president, but it also the operative strategy for a broad offensive against the public sector by a variety of corporate-backed forces. It is not just the rightwing fringe led by Glenn Beck and the other Fox News blowhards; the tea partiers are mere shock troops for an assault being driven by the mainstream business class and their cheerleaders in the media, even by many supposedly “liberal” voices in the public debate.

On October 15, hundreds of members of the Responsible Budget Coalition gathered at the state capital in Springfield to rally and lobby for a responsible budget. Elected officials failed to pass a responsible budget when they had the opportunity earlier this year. Now all of the programs Illinoisans depend on - education, health care, human services, public safety, and more - are at risk of even deeper cuts in 2010 unless legislators pass the new revenue needed to fix the budget mess for good.

The state budget picture isn’t pretty, and it’s only going to get worse as the year goes on. State workers face layoffs, service providers face deep cuts and late-paid bills, and schools and other vital services are bracing for the worst.

A bunch of vocal advocates are coming together for the first time to put a new level of pressure on state lawmakers for what they see as a definitive, long-term answer.